Traditionally, the Onemana day of Beach Hops past has been our favourite — it’s a great place to hold an event, and it’s a great drive there. And that was no different for this year’s Repco Beach Hop 16, even if the drive there was a little damp.
This year, the Castrol Edge Thunder Cruise — so named because that’s what a never-ending convoy of V8-powered vehicles sounds like — saw a bulk number of Beach Hop entrants cruise from Whangamata to Onemana Beach Reserve.
With priority parking in the upper reserve given to those who registered outside the Ford NZ Reserve that morning, the upper half of Onemana Beach Reserve boasted an impressive selection of vehicles to feast your eyes on. Of course, due to limited capacity, this soon spilled out onto the streets of Onemana — which were well worth a wander and a look — as well as the lower reserve.
Karl Boniface was on hand to demonstrate periodic fire-ups of his ‘Nitro Flashback’ funny car, to the delight of children and onlookers, and with live music, food, and trade stalls all a stone’s throw away, the Castrol Edge Thunder Cruise was an unquestionably great time.
We’ll have full coverage of the Castrol Edge Thunder Cruise, and the rest of Repco Beach Hop 16, in our NZV8 Beach Hop Annual 2016, which will be out in mid May — or you can pre-order a copy here.
